Mostly About Organized Crime

10/19/2009

Mexican drug trafficking organizations -- with their large stashes of narcotics and cash -- are becoming an enticing robbery target for criminal street gangs, according to gang investigators from throughout Georgia. A string of recent drug rip-offs are causing cartels to arm themselves more heavily, which could prove dangerous for law enforcement officers, said John Houston, supervisory special agent for the FBI Atlanta Division. * * * Investigators said the Latino street gang that has been targeting Mexican cartels in the metro Atlanta area is violent, brash and increasing in numbers. * * * "They are hitting stash houses," Bright said. The members of this gang are extremely violent and have been known to cut the ears off children or burn them with hot irons to get what they want, Sgt. Larry Bright of the Gwinnett County Police Department said. The gang is operating in at least five states, but most of its members are foreign nationals. Gangs and drugs often go hand-in-hand, and nowhere is that more evident than in Atlanta. Authorities say gangs are attracted to Atlanta because of its size, location, large immigrant population and the city's reputation for being a drug trafficking hub.

*** In the six-month period ending on Sept. 30, ICE agents arrested 1,785 gang members and associates "as part of a nationwide crackdown that targeted gangs involved in cross-border smuggling of people and weapons, drug trafficking, identity theft and other crimes."

*** Hartford, CT is suffering from a "gang infestation" with more than 138 street gangs and 4,000 members according to a new police report: "Many of the gangs, such as C-Block, Affleck Street Posse, Orange Street Killas, Wes-Hell/WHCF, York Street Posse, have ties to large national gangs — Latin Kings, Los Solidos, Bloods and Crips, the memo says."

Deputy Escalante had nothing to do with LAPD’s killing of Leon last year. The 27-year-old officer most likely heard about it on the news, like everyone else. But, federal prosecutors believe, Escalante died for it. Seeking revenge, the dead man’s friends months later went looking for a cop who would be an easy target at his home. Escalante was killed because he was convenient. The scenario suggests a new level of chaos in the area’s streets. As LAPD Captain Bill Murphy, of the Northeast Division, says, "It's a different breed of gangs. Not a lot are out there, shooting at and killing cops. That's when it gets way out of control."

08/31/2009

Shawn Clark, a 21-year-old West Seattle man who authorities said pimped out two teenage girls, then took all of their earnings to support his lifestyle, pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court today. His plea was followed by guilty pleas from fellow West Side Street Mobb gang member Thomas Foster, 20, to four counts, including promoting prostitution, assault and conspiracy to commit prostitution; and Gerald Jackson, 21, to one count of promoting prostitution. Clark, Foster and Jackson are the latest members of the West Side Street Mobb to enter guilty pleas after Seattle police, the FBI, the King County Sheriff's Office, as well as county and federal prosecutors, started investigating the gang last year for allegedly running a large juvenile prostitution ring. * * * Federal prosecutors say that the West Side Street Mobb was formed only three years ago but now has 50 members and associates, and has been tied to two fatal shootings and to bank fraud. A handful of members are currently being prosecuted in U.S. District Court. Teen prostitution has become a growing problem in Seattle.

A task force led by Phoenix police and the FBI announced they arrested 63 of the suspects early Wednesday. Two others turned themselves in, and nearly 40 people are outstanding, authorities said. The far-reaching criminal conspiracy case compiled by the FBI's Violent Street Gang Task Force received its nickname, Operation Trident, because investigators initially focused on three street gangs. Since January, investigators unraveled drug operations that supplied the local market and as far away as New York and Delaware.

The deadly stompings, gunplay and street fighting that claimed the lives of three teenagers became the focus of three separate murder trials last week. Each case provided a glimpse of a violent gang subculture in El Paso that is not likely to go away soon. "It's inherent that it will increase," said Mary Lou Carrillo, a retired El Paso police sergeant, who spent most of her career investigating gangs. "There is no way we will see a decrease in gang violence with a population increase." El Paso is not only a growing city but also a prime spot on one of the busiest narco-trafficking corridors in the nation.

"They are very well organized street gang from the Southside of Chicago and they are trying to spread out to other cities in the Midwest,” Lt. Steve Haney of the Sioux Falls Police Department said. Investigators believe they're doing that to expand their drug market.

They are the seventh and eighth men to receive life sentences from the 2005 sweep. "The Insane Deuces was a diabolical group," [Judge Harry] Leinenweber said at one point during the hearings. "I can't feel particularly sorry." Of the 16 men charged, 14 were convicted, one pleaded guilty and one is still missing. The racketeering convictions tied the men to three murders, five attempted murders and up to $1.25 million in drug trafficking in 2002.

*** A Top 6 gang member was arrested for a double shooting in 2006 outside a Lake Worth, FL restaurant, and "is also a suspect in numerous shootings": "the Top 6 street gang is linked to at least 150 shootings and 14 murders in Palm Beach County in recent years, according to authorities."

05/03/2009

*** In the Bronx, NY the NYPD has arrested 21 members of the Bloods "on 54 charges, including murder, conspiracy to murder, drug sales and illegal gun possession," and four of those arrested are accused of recruiting "gang members as young as 13 or 14 to sell drugs, stash firearms and carry out shootings."

All the arrests involved Mexican men with criminal pasts that included convictions or arrests for involuntary manslaughter, assault, burglary, unlawful possession of drugs and firearms and battery, the agency said in a news release. The men were allegedly members or associates of street gangs known as Kings of Destruction, Players For Life, Sureños-13, and the Vato Loco Boys.

*** The owner of a beauty salon in Houston, TX stands up to MS-13 demands for protection payments which results in the arrests of seven gang members: "Despite her fear, she was also angry that the same crimes she saw in her native El Salvador were happening in the United States."

At the celebrated Banzai Pipeline, they determine which waves go to whom, and punish those who breach their code of respect for local residents and the waves. * * * The Pipeline is "like any surf spot," said Randy Rarick, executive director of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which includes the Pipeline Masters. "You have locals, and you have locals who enforce the unwritten rules," Rarick said. "And sometimes that leads to violence, sort of shady characters dictating. It's kind of like Mafia control in the surf." * * * The Wolfpak's loosely affiliated membership comes mostly from the neighboring island of Kauai. It includes professional surfers like the three-time world champion Andy Irons, 30, and his brother, Bruce, 29, a talented free surfer. The most notorious member is the group's enforcer, Kala Alexander, a professional surfer with muscular tattooed arms and "Wolfpak" inked across his knuckles. In 2007, Alexander starred in "The 808," a reality television series about the Wolfpak and the North Shore, and appeared in the films "Blue Crush" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." But he has also gained fame for YouTube videos that show him pummeling surfers on the sand several years ago.

Federal Judge Ruben Castillo admitted he initially had reservations about hearing a local gang case in federal court. Were the U.S. courts -- places often reserved for bribery and public corruption -- the appropriate venue to try a bunch of neighborhood gang leaders? But after hearing the evidence against members of Aurora's Insane Deuces, Castillo said he became convinced federal courts were exactly where sophisticated, organized and deadly gangs must be dismantled. And [last] Wednesday, Castillo handed down the third, fourth and fifth life sentences to the gang members convicted of participating in a racketeering conspiracy that killed four people, attempted to kill five others and netted $1.5 million in drug profits.

Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, called the meeting at Salinas City Hall. She said it was a chance to start anew in the fight against gangs by seeking collaboration, commitment and resources from every level of government and law enforcement — the city, the county, the state and federal agencies. A former Salinas mayor, Caballero said such meetings were successful during her administration and led to the jailing of major gang leaders and the creation of such tools as the Monterey County Joint Gang Task force. And make no mistake, Caballero said in an impromptu, pre-meeting press conference, "Organized crime is really what this is all about." It was a reference to the belief in some circles that, as Salinas' interim police Chief Daniel Ortega suggested in an earlier press conference Friday, that the recent violence and robberies might be tied to the notorious prison gang, Nuestra Familia.

"Using criminal prosecutions and deportations, we're taking dangerous gang members off the street and disrupting the cycle of gang violence," said Brian DeMore, field office director for ICE's Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Los Angeles. "In cases where gang members are in the United States illegally, we not only remove them from the community, we seek to remove them from the country." As part of Operation Community Shield, ICE works with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target transnational street gangs. Transnational street gangs have a significant number of foreign-born members and are frequently involved in human and contraband smuggling, immigration violations and other crimes with a connection to the border. Since Operation Community Shield was launched in 2005, ICE has arrested more than 11,850 gang members and associates nationwide and seized more than 450 firearms. Of those arrested, 145 were gang leaders.

The three-year investigation that led to the 14-person indictment was dubbed Operation Broken Star, referring to the Astros logo that the Houstone gang members use to identify themselves with their clothing and tattoos, said acting U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson. "Most gangs deal with roots in the prison system," Johnson said. He said gangs are useful protection in prison and embolden the members on the outside. He noted that "10 working together with the same goal," have a magnified effect. "The Houstones are an offshoot of the Tango Blast prison gang," said Andrew Bland III, special agent in charge of the FBI in Houston. "Make no bones about it, we are here to collectively wage battle, wage war on any gang and all gangs." The 14 indicted men, ages 22 to 36 and mostly from the Houston area, are charged with distributing marijuana and cocaine with a wholesale value of $18 million and could have a street value much higher, maybe $40 million, authorities said. Also seized from the suspected gang members were 10 cars, including a Hummer, a Mercedes, a Bentley, a Maserati and a Range Rover.